Bullet and Shot Choice

Choosing the correct firearm and ammunition is step one with game care. When chosen properly, your meat is less likely to be ruined. For example, when hunting Elk a good choice would be a 30-06 Springfield. Some useful information on bullet and shot choice can be found at the links listed below.

Bleeding

If the animal has been shot in the chest area, or if a major artery has been severed due to a shot, sufficient blood loss has occurred. It's important to note that unless the animal's heart is still beating, no significant blood loss will occur by severing the throat. If your trophy is to be mounted, don't cut the animal's throat. This can ruin the cape of your trophy and cause your taxidermist additional work, not to mention the added cost to you. If the animal is not yet dead, simply administer an additional shot to the vitals to dispatch the animal.

When an animal is downed with a shot that doesn't cause immediate death, and if the animal won't be mounted, then severing the throat is an option. Use extreme caution when approaching an injured animal to avoid a serious or fatal injury. A single cut entering the throat at the junction of the neck and body will sever one or both of the carotid arteries. This cut only needs to be large enough to allow blood to flow freely, so a large, gaping hole isn't necessary.

Field Dressing

Tag the animal immediately to comply with game laws. Before beginning the field dressing, be sure your knife is sharp. Unintentional cuts can be minimized with a sharp knife and the entire job will require less effort. To make the field dressing simpler, take your time. Mistakes made through haste usually make the job more difficult than necessary.

Some hunters feel it's essential to remove the tarsal glands inside the knees between the hind legs, but this is not necessary. It is important, however, to avoid touching the meat after touching any glands or waste.

Prop the animal on its back and begin field dressing by removing the genitals. If the animal is a male, separate the penis from the abdomen by cutting the skin and connective tissue back to the testicles. Continue to separate the penis and testicles from the body being careful not to sever the tubes running into the pelvic cavity. The tubes that connect the penis and testicles enter the pelvic cavity just above the anus and must all be left intact. Now proceed by cutting the skin and muscle around the anus. This can be done easily with the same cutting action used to core an apple. This cut should be 3 or 4 inches and tie it off with a short piece of string. If the animal is a female, the sex organ should be detached from the body cavity by cutting it away from the muscle tissue along with the anus. Cut the female's mammaries away from the lower abdomen at this time.

Cut down to the pelvic bone. This cut is made exactly between the hind legs. One of the hams will be damaged if you don't center this cut. Now turn the knife, blade side up and make a cut from the pelvis up to the breastbone. Use your two fingers on the hand that is not holding the knife to keep the entrails away from the point of the blade. Extend the cut through the breastbone and up into the chest cavity. The breastbone can be cut easily by avoiding the center of the sternum and making the cut along one side of the breastbone. The cartilage and bone is much softer on the sides than in the middle of the sternum. If you plan to save the cape, don't cut farther forward than an imaginary line drawn all the way around the animal's chest directly behind the shoulders.

Reach as far forward as possible into the chest cavity and sever the esophagus and windpipe. Roll the animal on its side and then cut the thin layer of muscle (diaphragm) separating the heart and lungs from the stomach away from the rib cage on the "up side" of the carcass. When cutting through the diaphragm, be careful not to puncture the stomach. By rolling the animal on its side, gravity will work to your advantage by moving the heart, lungs, and viscera out of your way. Repeat this procedure on the other side until you have all connective tissue detached from the body cavity.

You can now pull the entrails free from the carcass. Pull the penis, testicles, and anus, which should all be attached together, back through the pelvis and out of the body cavity. It may be necessary to cut some connective tissue free as the anus and testicles are pulled back through the body. Take care to avoid severing the urinary or fecal tract during this process to prevent spilling waste in the body cavity.

The carcass must be cooled as soon as possible. If the outside temperature is warm, elevate the animal above ground to facilitate air circulation around the entire body. This can be accomplished by hanging the animal in a cool, shady place. Hang the animal head down using a gambrel or a heavy stick placed between the tendon and hocks of each rear leg. Attach a rope to the gambrel or stick and suspend the carcass above ground. To aid circulation and cooling, prop the body cavity open with a stick; it may be necessary to split the pelvis on very large animals. Skinning your game will greatly increase cooling in warm temperatures and is necessary to prevent problems with spoilage.

If temperatures stay at or around 32°F, then venison can be aged for as long 10 to 12 days. Watch the carcass carefully if temperatures increase above 45° during the day or if the carcass does not remain shaded at all times. Use cheese cloth or light cotton bags to protect the meat from insects. Black pepper also can be used to deter insects in an emergency situation. Aging improves the tenderness, but may increase the trimming losses due to dehydration.

If temperatures do not permit the carcass to remain outside, then transport your game to a meat locker as soon as possible. Your game carcass also can be quartered and placed on ice in warm weather conditions. If iced down adequately, meat can be kept for several days in this fashion. Water from the melting ice will not harm the meat and quarters can be rinsed free from bloody water when preparing to process the carcass.

Skinning

Hang the carcass from the hind legs for skinning. Remove the hide by grasping the skin and pulling hard with both hands. Use your knife carefully when freeing the hide from the carcass to avoid cutting the skin. If the flesh begins to pull off with the skin, stop pulling and try again after cutting the flesh back with the skinning knife. The thin muscles of the abdomen will pull off easily with the hide, so patience and careful knife work are usually required on this part of the carcass.

If the cape is to be saved, you can cut the middle and rear portion of the hide free from the cape when you reach the area just behind the shoulders. This is achieved by simply cutting the hide all the way around the body until the skin is free. Do not cut the hide in half behind the shoulders if you want to keep the entire skin intact for tanning purposes. Continue to skin toward the head and when you reach the base of the neck, pull the hide downward, turning the hide inside-out. This will require some effort and is best achieved by grasping the hide very close to the neck while pulling and tugging downward. When you get the skin rolled back all the way to the base of the head, you can then carefully saw the head free from the neck just below the bottom jaw. If you do not have a saw, you can cut through the neck muscles down to the bone making sure to free all muscle and tissue. At this point, someone will need to hold the carcass while you twist the head 360 degrees. If all tissue is cut loose, the last vertebrae will break free from the base of the skull and the head and skin will now be free from the carcass.

Caping the Trophy Head

Special care is needed if you want the head to be mounted for your trophy room, or if you want to sell the cape to a taxidermist. There are two ways to proceed with caping. One method involves cutting the cape up the back of the neck for the entire length. This is a common method and makes skinning out the neck much easier, but will require a great deal of sewing on the part of your taxidermist. The second method will create less work for your taxidermist and often results in a higher quality mount. Begin by making an 8- to 10-inch cut up the neck. This requires that the head be detached from the body as discussed in the section on skinning so that the head can be worked back through the 8- to 10-inch slit in the cape. The cape is detached from the rest of the hide by making a cut all the way around the rib cage just behind the shoulders. When caping the head, pull the hide free from the flesh, taking care not to cut the skin. A knife cut in the head portion of the cape can be very difficult for a taxidermist to hide. Be extra careful around the eyes and tear-duct area in the inside corner of the eye socket. It may help to put your finger in the deer's eye from the outside and cut the connective tissue around the eye, but be careful not to cut yourself.

When skinning around the mouth leave as much of the lip tissue connected to the cape as possible, so that the taxidermist can split the lips from the inside to make a realistic mount. The ears can be cut off close to the skull. Use your fingers and a blunt object to separate the hide from back side of the ear cartilage. Do not attempt to cut the cartilage loose from the ear. Simply turn the ears inside-out with the cartilage still attached to the front part of the ears and the taxidermist will take care of it from there.

Remove all meat from the scalp and salt the hide liberally. Roll with flesh side in and allow to drain for 24 hours. Re-salt until all moisture is removed. Store in a cool, dry place until the cape can be taken to the taxidermist. Antlers should be sawed from the skull and all meat and tissue should be removed.

Common Errors

Do not cut a deer's throatOnce a deer is dead it's heart stops pumping blood. This will not help bleed the deer.

You don't need to cut out the tarsal glandsThe tarsal gland secretion will not work it's way into the meat. However, if you get the liquid on your hands and then touch the skinned carcass you can taint the meat.

Sharpen your knivesA sharp knife will make the entire process easier and reduce unneeded cuts. Take your time while dressing game mistakes can end up at the hospital.